FOIA / Open Government

Freedom of Information Policy

It is the policy of the City of Tuscola to provide public access to information and records in accordance with the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140/1 et seq., hereinafter the “Act.”)


The City of Tuscola is a home-rule municipality of 4,636 citizens, according to the 2020 census. Located in Douglas County in East Central Illinois, the City of Tuscola provides police and fire protection, street and park maintenance, building and electrical inspection, water and sanitary sewer utilities, a tourism office, a municipal library, and a municipal swimming pool. Please see the attached organizational chart for more detailed information.

 

The City of Tuscola is operated under the Aldermanic-city form of local government, consisting of aldermen elected from each ward on staggered 4 year terms, and a mayor, who is the chief executive officer elected on a 4 year term.  The City Council has appointed members of the community to serve on its various advisory boards.  To view more information about those boards, please view the Boards & Commissions page of this website.


The City has 25 full-time employees, 11 part-time employees, approximately 30 paid-on-call firefighters, and approximately 25 summer-seasonal employees each year. The FY 2022 total operating budget is $10,017,595.

 

The City of Tuscola maintains public records in accordance with the attached list of records by type and category. The public may inspect public records of the City of Tuscola at City Hall between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The public may also request information and public records by writing to City Hall, attn: Freedom of Information Officer, at the address above. Written requests may also be made by fax to 217-253-5026 or by electronic mail to info@tuscola.org. Verbal requests may be accepted, but the City reserves the right to require any request to be made in writing. The designated Freedom of Information Officers are City Administrator J. Drew Hoel and City Treasurer Alta Long.

 

The City may charge a fee of $0.15 per page for copies in excess of 50 black and white, letter or legal sized pages per day. Additionally, the City may charge a fee equal to the actual cost of production of copies in a different size or format or in color, and may also charge a fee equal to the actual cost of the recording medium (disc, diskette, flash drive, etc.) when records are requested and provided in an electronic format. The City may consider requests for waivers or reductions of fees if the request is made in the public interest (if the principal purpose of the request is to access and disseminate information regarding the health, safety and welfare or the legal rights of the general public and is not for the principal purpose of personal or commercial benefit.) 5 ILCS 140/6

 

The City shall grant or deny a request for access to information or records within 5 business days of receipt of the request, unless the time for response is properly extended under Section 3 (e) of the Act. As an exception to the foregoing, the City shall grant or deny a request for access to information or records made for a commercial purpose within 21 working days.

 

General Information

The City of Tuscola is a home-rule municipality of 4,636 citizens, according to the 2020 census. Located in Douglas County in East Central Illinois, the City of Tuscola provides police and fire protection, street and park maintenance, building and electrical inspection, water and sanitary sewer utilities, a tourism office, a municipal library, and a municipal swimming pool. Please see the attached organizational chart for more detailed information.

 

The City of Tuscola is operated under the Aldermanic-city form of local government, consisting of aldermen elected from each ward on staggered 4 year terms, and a mayor, who is the chief executive officer elected on a 4 year term.  The City Council has appointed members of the community to serve on its various advisory boards.  To view more information about those boards, please view the Boards & Commissions page of this website.


The City has 25 full-time employees, 11 part-time employees, approximately 30 paid-on-call firefighters, and approximately 25 summer-seasonal employees each year. The FY 2022 total operating budget is $10,017,595.

 

The City of Tuscola maintains public records in accordance with the attached list of records by type and category. The public may inspect public records of the City of Tuscola at City Hall between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The public may also request information and public records by writing to City Hall, attn: Freedom of Information Officer, at the address above. Written requests may also be made by fax to 217-253-5026 or by electronic mail to info@tuscola.org. Verbal requests may be accepted, but the City reserves the right to require any request to be made in writing. The designated Freedom of Information Officers are City Administrator J. Drew Hoel and City Treasurer Alta Long.

 

The City may charge a fee of $0.15 per page for copies in excess of 50 black and white, letter or legal sized pages per day. Additionally, the City may charge a fee equal to the actual cost of production of copies in a different size or format or in color, and may also charge a fee equal to the actual cost of the recording medium (disc, diskette, flash drive, etc.) when records are requested and provided in an electronic format. The City may consider requests for waivers or reductions of fees if the request is made in the public interest (if the principal purpose of the request is to access and disseminate information regarding the health, safety and welfare or the legal rights of the general public and is not for the principal purpose of personal or commercial benefit.) 5 ILCS 140/6

 

The City shall grant or deny a request for access to information or records within 5 business days of receipt of the request, unless the time for response is properly extended under Section 3 (e) of the Act. As an exception to the foregoing, the City shall grant or deny a request for access to information or records made for a commercial purpose within 21 working days.

Business Locations

The City operates several locations within the city limits.  Our primary business location is within City Hall, located at 214 N Main ST, Tuscola, IL 61953.  Listed below are other city locations, many of these locations are not regularly staffed, thus do not take drop in visitors.

 

City Hall: 214 N. Main St.

Phone:  217-253-2112

Fax:  217-253-5026

Email:  info@tuscola.org

 

Police Station: 204 N. Parke St.

217-253-2351

 

Fire Station: 104 E. Pinzon St.

217-253-2341

 

Library: 112 E. Sale St.

217-253-3812

 

Tourism Office: 214 N Main St.

217-253-2112

 

Street Department: 1009 E. Wilson St.

217-253-3114

 

Sewer Plant: Hillcrest Drive

217-253-3414

 

Parks Department: Ervin Park

217-253-4122

 

Swimming Pool: Ervin Park

217-253-4932

TIF Reports

The City of Tuscola has three Tax Increment Financing Districts. We report the activities of those districts to the Illinois Comptroller on an annual basis.  The submission for the most recent fiscal year is available here:

TIF Area No. 1

Amishland TIF Area - TIF 2

Barker - Prairie TIF Area - TIF # 3

 

Please click the link below to search for prior Tuscola TIF reports.

Illinois Comptroller TIF Reports

City Council Meeting Minutes

City Council Meeting Minutes are available here:

City Council Meeting Minutes

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